


Let Us Walk from Fire Unto Fire

by alexcat



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Anger, Angst, Avengers Kink Meme Fill, F/M, M/M, Multi, Prompt Fill, Threesome - F/M/M, surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:55:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22045234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat
Summary: After Pepper and Tony split during the two years that Steve is in exile, Pepper runs into Steve in Germany and sparks fly. Eventually, Tony finds out and thing go a bit sideways.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44
Collections: AvengerKink, Of Elves and Men





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is from a prompt from Avengers Kink: Tony walks in on Pepper & Steve making love; Steve feels guilty and embarrassed.

PART ONE 

*

_Nay, let us walk from fire unto fire,_  
 _From passionate pain to deadlier delight, -_  
 _I am too young to live without desire,_  
 _Too young art thou to waste this summer night_  
 _Asking those idle questions which of old_  
 _Man sought of seer and oracle, and no reply was told._  
~~ from **Panthea** by Oscar Wilde 

*

Tony had become so distant since the thing with Steve and Zemo that Pepper had taken a break. She moved on, running SI like she had for years and traveling the world as its CEO and best ambassador. She loved Tony, but she couldn’t take him right now. It wasn’t like he was alone. He had Rhodes to take care of and Rhodes would take care of Tony, too. He always had. 

She simply could not deal. 

That’s why she was here in Berlin. SI did work with several European companies and she’d arranged to meet here with several of them. 

She did not expect the other meeting she ended up having. 

She was working on some last minute notes for her first meeting when her room phone rang. That was odd. Anyone who needed to talk about business with her had her cell number. 

She picked up the phone. “Hello?” 

“Miss Potts?” She recognized the voice. It was Steve Rogers.

“Steve?” 

“Yes, ma’am. I saw that you were here in Berlin and I called to see if he – Tony – is all right?” 

“No, he’s not really. He’s sort of running in circles right now, but Rhodes is with him and he’s concentrating on making Rhodes mobile again. How are you?”

“Other than being in hiding, I’m good.” 

“Would you like to come up? I don’t have a meeting for an hour and it’s here in the hotel.” 

“I –uh – I – sure. Why not?” 

“I assume you know the room number?” 

“Yeah, I do.”

Steve tapped on her door a few moments later. She wasn’t expecting what she saw. He was bearded and his hair was longer, darker. He’d been handsome before. He was deeply good looking now. And sexy, very sexy. 

“Hello, Miss Potts.” 

She showed him in. “Come on. It’s Pepper. Would you like a drink?”

“Water would be nice.” 

She grabbed a bottle out of the fridge and handed it to him. 

“You certainly look different. I might not have known you on the street.”

He smiled, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s the plan. I’m a fugitive. How is he, really?”

“Steve, he’s impossible, the world’s biggest victim right now, but he’ll get better. I think he misses you and the team. I don’t think he’d ever really been a part of anything before.”

“I miss the team, too.”

Pepper realized she had to leave in a few minutes for her meeting, but she wanted to see Steve a little longer. 

“I have a meeting but I don’t want you to disappear. Wait here for me and we’ll have dinner when I get back.” 

“I shouldn’t stay here. Too many people and cameras. Meet me later?”

“That’ll work,” she answered. 

“My place? It’s not much but it’s home right now.” He scribbled his address on the notepad on the desk and handed it to her. 

“Eight okay for you?” she asked.

He nodded and when he headed for the door, she reached out and touched his arm. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “See you later, Steve.” 

At 8pm, Pepper’s driver dropped her at the address Steve gave her. It was a low rent apartment building. It wasn’t bad, though, fairly clean and well lit. She tapped on his door and smiled when he opened it. He was dressed in a jeans and a black t-shirt, in keeping with his darker image. 

She held up a bag. “Food. I brought food.” 

She removed takeout boxes with food – schnitzel, potato pancakes, asparagus, and bread. She even produced a bottle of wine. Steve found plates, glasses and silverware. They sat at his small table. She poured the wine and they held up their glasses for a toast. 

“Tony,” they both said at the same time. 

Pepper laughed. “We can’t get away from him, can we?” 

Steve smiled and the smile reached his eyes this time.

They chatted about unimportant things during dinner and settled on Steve’s small sofa after they finished. 

“I’m glad you came to see me,” Pepper told him as she sipped her wine. 

“I was afraid you tell me to get lost.” 

“I wouldn’t do that. You know I’ve tried to stay as far removed from the Avengers as I possibly can. If it were up to me, Tony would give up Iron Man but we both know that will never happen.”

Steve shook his head. “I don’t think he can.”

“I wanted him to choose me, but that’s not going to happen.” 

“He loves you, but he ‘ _is_ Iron Man.”

She shrugged. “It’s tough to play second fiddle to an iron suit.” 

“I can’t imagine you being second fiddle to anything.” 

“So what are you _doing_ here in Germany?” 

“Honestly? Well, some of the other renegade Avengers and myself, we chase down bad guys and alien tech.” 

“So pretty much the same as before?” 

He nodded. “Without the suit and shield.” 

“Who pays for it?” Pepper had a suspicion, but she was sure that Steve was smart enough to have the same one. 

“Funds just appear. We don’t ask too many questions.” 

She nodded but she was going to find out if it was Tony who financed them. She was sure Steve knew she’d check it all out. 

He smiled at her. “When you find out, don’t tell me unless I need to know.”

She grinned at him. “Deal.” 

She finished her wine and set the glass on the table. “I guess I should go. I’ll call my driver.” 

“Ever ridden on a motorcycle?” 

“Not in years. I had a boyfriend in college who had one.” She’d loved riding with her arms around him, feeling the power of the machine between her legs. 

“I’ll take you back.”

“Who could say no to a handsome man on a motorcycle?” she answered. 

They went out back, where his motorcycle was covered and chained to a rail for safety. He removed the cover and handed her one of the helmets. A few minutes later, she was riding behind with her arms around the perfect body of Steve Rogers. A thrill ran through her as they’d peeled out into the street and raced toward her hotel.

When they got to the hotel, he secured his bike and walked with her into the lobby.

“You don’t have to come up.” It was perfectly safe to go up by herself. 

“I’ll see you to your door.”

They boarded the elevator and he walked her to the door. She turned to tell him goodnight and instead, she reached for him and pulled him into an embrace. She kissed his cheek first then his mouth. The kiss began as a touch and quickly deepened into something much more, as she parted her lips and his tongue slipped between them.

Steve pulled away. “This isn’t – we shouldn’t -” and then he stopped talking and pulled her close, kissing her again.

She pulled away after the kiss and motioned toward the door. “I should go – I think – I should go inside now.” And she was gone. 

As soon as she closed the door, she stood with her back against it, willing her heart to stop pounding. She’d wanted nothing more than to ask him in and drag him to her bed. Everything about him made her want him. Next time she wouldn’t say no. 

*

Back in his own apartment, Steve was conflicted. He’d wanted Pepper and was certain that she wanted him, but she was Tony’s girlfriend, not his. He hadn’t missed anything when they’d kissed, from the way she’d sucked his tongue into her mouth to the subtle way her hand found its way down to cup his ass while they were kissing. He hadn’t imagined her hips rubbing against his erection either. 

He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he felt sure he’d never hear from her again and the next time he saw her, if her ever did again, she’d act like she didn’t remember it. 

He was proved wrong. Delightfully wrong. 

The next day when he came in from his morning run, there was a note in the floor. It had been slipped under the door. 

He read the note, scribbled in red. 

_Need to see you again. My hotel room? 6-ish? – P.Potts_

Heat rushed to his groin. Shit! He didn’t need this. Maybe he’d just not go. She’d get the message and that would be that. But he wanted to go, wanted to explore what they started. He knew that part of what made him want her was that she was Tony’s. She was also beautiful, brilliant and she wanted him. 

He was also fairly sure that she knew he was Tony’s, too. 

Steve was bisexual and falling into a physical relationship with Stark had been the most natural thing in the world at the time. Sparks flew when they were in the same room and they’d never seemed to get enough of one another. Looking back, it might not have been so wise. 

This relationship might not be wise either. 

What did he know? He was just a soldier. 

*

Pepper was tired of marching to Tony’s tune. She loved him. That would never change, but he was exhausting sometimes. She simply needed a break. Perhaps Steve was not the best choice for that. Maybe he was perfect choice. Time would tell. 

Tony didn’t know how much she really knew about him. He had no idea that she knew about the men, the ones before they met and Steve. She’d actually walked in on him and Steve once, but they never saw her and she’d beat a hasty retreat. Steve had been on his knees in front of Tony and Tony’s eyes had been closed, his face distorted in pleasure. 

She had been surprised that it hadn’t made her angry or jealous. She knew that Steve was someone Tony really cared about, not just a passing fancy like the parade of women before her. 

She showered and put black lacy underwear on under her clothes. She ordered a nice dinner and champagne for them, then changed her mind. She’d wait to see what he wanted. She paced nervously until he knocked. 

He looked gorgeous again in black, all black. He’d even traded his brown leather jacket for a black one. 

“Hi, Mis – Pepper. I started to not come. I’m a little nervous about this.”

“I’m not with him anymore, Steve. We’re both adults. I find you very desirable and I hope you do me, too.”

“Shall we order dinner or go out?” he asked, evading the whole issue. 

Pepper actually wanted to seduce him and do it right now, but if he wanted to take some time, she was all right with that. “Out?” 

“Do you like Spanish food?” 

“Sure. Why not?” She figured this must be his base of operations, so maybe he’d know more places than she did. 

“I know a place that does a nice paella. Simple, good.”

They left and got a cab to the little restaurant. The dinner was good and she enjoyed watching Steve eat. He ate like he was always hungry. She wondered if he did everything that way, then chided herself for having a dirty mind. They walked after dinner, seeing the sites in the last bits of daylight. 

“When do you leave?” Steve asked her. 

“Not until the weekend. I’m trying take it slower, but I don’t think I’m wired that way, any more than Tony is.”

“So he’s not running SI at all these days?” 

“No, he’s moping with Rhodey most of the time. And working on a way to help Jim walk.”

“I so wish that none of that happened.” 

“I know. You hurt him. He trusted you.”

“I- I -” he looked away and back at Pepper. “I couldn’t let Ross get his hands on Bucky. I didn’t tell Tony what I knew because I knew my Bucky wouldn’t have done that. I didn’t think that knowing would do Tony any good either. I guess I didn’t consider that he had the right to know what happened to his parents.”

She reached out for his hand, taking it in hers as they walked. “I know and I think Tony knows, too. He’ll come around some day. It might take some time.”

“I miss him, miss everyone.”

“He misses you, too.” 

They walked toward the Brandenburg Gate. They got a coffee at a little shop there. They headed back the other way. 

“Come back to my hotel with me, Steve.”

He stopped and turned toward her. “Are you sure that we should do this?”

“Do you want to?” she asked. 

“God, yes, but I know I’ll feel guilty afterwards.”

“There’s no need for that.” She leaned close and kissed his cheek. 

They walked back to the hotel without saying much more.

Once in Pepper’s room, they drank some wine and talked about SI a little. She told him a little about their clean energy initiative and how they were subsidizing companies that switched to the energy that Arc Reactors produced. 

Once they’d finished most of the wine, Pepper leaned forward and set her glass on the coffee table. She turned to Steve and took his glass, setting it down for him. She reached out and touched the side of his face. “The beard is sexy as hell.” 

“Thanks,” he murmured. She saw a little blush above his beard.

She leaned close and whispered in his ear. “I’ve never fucked anyone with a full beard like yours before.” 

“Is that what we’re going to do?” he asked her. She could tell he was excited by her use of the word. 

“Oh yes. I think it is.” She kissed him, no pretense of being hesitant or shy. She moved over and sat in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

“Here or the bed?” he asked. 

“The bed.” 

He stood with her in his arms and carried her over to the bed, depositing her on the nearest side. Then he stood and pulled his black t-shirt off, tossing it to the floor. When he reached for his belt buckle, she sat up and smacked his hands away. She unbuckled him and slowly unzipped his jeans. His erection was straining against his boxers. She slid both pants and underwear down at one time. 

“I know now why he was so crazy about you.” She only realized what she’d said after it came out of her mouth. 

“You knew?” he asked, a little breathless now, as he stepped out of his pants and sat on the edge of the bed. 

“I saw you once, you were on your knees in front of him.” 

She fiddled with the buttons of her blouse until he moved her hands and began to unbutton them himself. Once her lacy black bra was exposed, Steve leaned down and kissed her chest as his hand slipped the strap down far enough to free her nipple to his mouth. He bit her nipple just as he slipped his free hand down between her legs, rubbing her crotch through her trousers. Pepper arched against his hand. She had expected him to be shyer than this, but she wasn’t complaining one bit. 

He was back kissing her mouth when he put his hand down the front of her pants and slipped a finger into her wet mound, unerringly finding her clitoris and teasing it until she was whimpering into his kiss. 

“Let me get these pants off.” 

“Yes,” he answered as she began divesting herself of them. She left her tiny little lace panty on. He didn’t mind as he pushed her back onto the bed. He spread her legs and lay between them, licking her through the black lace. 

She grabbed his hair and thrust herself against his mouth. He raised his head just enough to move the lace aside with his fingers and spread her lips open so he could taste her. 

“God, Steve,” she moaned as his tongue explored her. He teased her clitoris and she clamped her legs around his neck and ground herself against him until everything stopped just before the stars exploded inside her body. She gasped his named and clutched at him until it was done. 

He moved up between her legs and kissed her. She tasted herself in his kiss as he guided himself inside, plunging deep with no hesitation at all. 

He drove into her in long, powerful thrusts, whispering her name like a prayer as he moved. She put her hands on his waist, then down on his ass, feeling his strong muscles flex as he moved. He lay fully on top of her with his head beside hers, his mouth near her ear in an old fashioned, but thoroughly intimate way. He slipped his hands beneath her to hold her closer still.

He raised his head to look into her face, driving deep and crying out as he came undone in her arms. His thrusts were short, jerks of his hips as he spilled himself inside her. She murmured his name as she slid her hands over his back. He didn’t move for several minutes as she held him while he caught his breath. 

When he moved off of her, he started to get up. 

“Stay, Steve,” Pepper said. She didn’t want to be alone, didn’t want him to be alone either. She’d have felt guilty if Tony hadn’t done the same to her so many times. And Tony wasn’t here, was he? “It’s all right.”

He didn’t say anything but he lay back down beside her. She snuggled up to him. 

They slept.


	2. Part Two

Pepper looked at her watch. She was taking a quick trip to Toronto. Steve was meeting her there and they’d drive back into Niagara for a weekend getaway. She’d rented a room at a honeymooner’s inn for them. He was all she’d been able to think about today. They’d met in Europe several times and she’d honestly thought the thrill would wear off. 

It hadn’t.

She wasn’t in love with him the way she’d always loved Tony, but she did love him. He was tortured by the things he’d done to Tony and by things he couldn’t or wouldn’t talk about. She knew that, but he was kind and sweet. He had both a commanding presence and a boyish charm that she found to be an irresistible combination. He was also big and strong.

And he could go all night.

She turned off her lights and grabbed her purse and small carryon. She got a taxi to the airport and the next thing she knew, she was waiting for him in the airport lounge in Toronto, nursing a glass of wine and reading a trashy romance she’d grabbed in the airport newsstand. 

“Pep?” 

She looked up and there he stood, still dressed like midnight in all black, still sporting his sexy long hair and beard. 

“Mr. Stevens!” she said as she stood and hugged him. They’d used to name publicly as it was the name on the fake passport she’d gotten him. It also made her laugh, because they hadn’t chosen the name. It was simply one that came up when she’d arranged the passport. She kissed his cheek and whispered, “I’m so wet for you,” in his ear. Out loud, she said, “I’ve got us a car.”

They crossed into Niagara and drove to the little honeymoon inn Pepper had found in Buffalo. Steve had driven and she had kissed his cheek and caressed his arm and his leg all the way. His arousal had not escaped her notice. 

After what seemed like forever and was only a few minutes, they got into their room. As soon as the door closed, Pepper began removing her clothes. Steve licked his lip and watched her.

“You make me into a wanton slut, Steve Rogers.” 

He stepped close as she stepped out of her panties. “I thought that’s what you did to me, Virginia Potts,” he growled as pulled her into his arms and kissed her. 

“You need to be naked for that to happen,” she murmured into his ear just before she grabbed his earlobe between her teeth. 

He took the hint and moments later, they fell naked onto the bed. 

“Fuck me now,” she begged him and he did. 

Only a few minutes later, they lay side by side, catching their breath. 

Steve laughed. “That was -”

“Fast and dirty!” she finished. “And hot as hell. I can’t get enough of you, Mr. Stevens.”

He looked over at her and grinned. She scooted over and ran her hand down his belly. “Not sure even I can recover that fast,” he told her. 

*

Steve still felt a twinge of guilt when he was with her, but the feeling of being needed and loved usually overshadowed it. He knew he was more of a distraction for her than anything else and he didn’t delude himself that it was him she loved instead of Tony. On the other hand, he loved Tony, too, and he suspected she knew it. 

The sex was great. She wasn’t shy about asking for anything she wanted and she certainly knew more things to try than he did. He suspected she’d taught Tony a few things, too. She did things with him that he’d only done with Tony before. She’d made him blush more than once. 

Natasha teased him about his girlfriend, but he didn’t think she knew it was Pepper. To protect Pepper, he hadn’t told anyone about her. 

“Pepper, how is Tony?” He always asked her, usually after they’d made love the first time. 

“He’s still angry and he’s making noises about us getting back together.” 

“Are you getting back with him?” 

“I might, but I don’t want to talk about Tony. I want to talk about you and how good it feels when you bury that bearded face between my legs.”

That ended the conversation as he did as she asked, scooting down on the bed and opening her legs. He tasted himself as she squirmed under his tongue. He kept going until her legs were wrapped tightly around his head and she was crying out his name, not Tony’s.

They dressed and went out to dinner later. Pepper ate like a bird and Steve, as usual, ate like he was starving. 

“How is Rhodes?” Steve asked her as they ate. 

“Tony has made an exoskeleton for him to walk with and it works great. He’s doing well.”

She told him about what SI was doing these days. Her forays into clean energy were groundbreaking and that was all on Tony for inventing the tech and her for marketing it. 

“Do you think you could slip down into the city?”

“New York? A little risky, but probably. Why?” 

“I have this fantasy of you and me and my desk.” 

He shook his head and laughed. “Damn, Virginia. You’re about to wear me out.”

“I feel twenty when I’m with you, Steve.” 

“Maybe because I’m damn near a hundred.”

They spent the weekend loving, talking and walking together. It came to an end all too soon. 

“I’m going to figure out how to get you to New York,” she told him as she boarded the plane for the city. 

He flew back to Germany on the flight she’d booked for him. He had grown more attached to Pepper than he meant to. She’d started out as forbidden fruit, but she was sexy and witty, sweet and saucy, and she was Tony’s. 

She never shied away from talking about Tony when he asked and there were times when he knew she wanted to ask _him_ about Tony. She’d made it clear she had known they were lovers for quite a while. 

It was only a few weeks later that she called him and told him that she’d figured out how to smuggle him into New York and into her office. She had him on an SI industrial freight flight that would drop him at the air freight cargo section at JFK. She would send someone to pick him up and deliver him personally to her office via the freight elevator. 

*

Pepper often worked late and usually Happy would come by or send one of the other personal drivers they kept on staff for her when she got ready to come home. She hadn’t asked for either tonight. She was expecting a delivery. 

Her delivery got there right on time.

“It feels like I’ve been waiting a week just since you landed!” she told Steve when she let him into her office. 

He was in her arms in seconds. She was leaned over her desk with Steve inside her from behind when Tony walked in. 

“Hey Pep, I brought those contracts --- fucking hell, what’s going on here?” Tony said as he stood, frozen in place and staring at Steve Rogers’ naked ass. 

* 

Steve had frozen when he heard the door open. He couldn’t see who was coming in but anyone walking him on him and Pepper couldn’t be a good thing, no matter who it was.

When Tony spoke, he pulled out of Pepper. He grabbed his clothes and ran, never having felt so embarrassed in his life. 

He didn’t even stop when Pepper called to him by name. 

He ran to a bathroom down the hall and ducked in to dress. He went back down to the freight entrance and asked the man who’d brought him to take him back to the airport. He’d find a way to leave. 

* 

Pepper pulled on her skirt and blouse. “You should go find him, Tony.”

“Pepper, I walked in on him with his dick buried in you! Why the hell would I go after him?” 

“I’m not your girlfriend. I’m his girlfriend now. I didn’t act like this when I saw him with your dick down his throat.” She was angry. 

Tony’s face paled. “You saw us – wait, you knew when Steve and I were a – when we were fucking?” 

“Yes, Tony, I know everything you do, good or bad. We are not a couple anymore. I met up with Steve in Berlin several months ago. We had some fun and we like being together. It’s not your business, but you’d better find his ass before that jackass Ross gets his hands on him.”

*

Steve was at the airport at the SI shipping area when Tony found him. 

“Steve, come back to SI with me. Pepper wants to talk to you. I – I was out of line.” 

Steve knew his cheeks were still blazing red. “I’d rather you figure out how to get me back to Berlin. I have things to do, and you and Ross sending me to the Raft isn’t one of them.”

“We – I – won’t do that. Pepper says we need to talk, all three of us.”

Steve wanted to run. He didn’t think Tony was going to let him and he didn’t feel right about leaving Pepper to face Tony all alone. 

He nodded and followed Tony out to the car. Tony had driven by himself. 

“I called ahead. They weren’t going to let you on the plane,” Tony told him as they got into the car.

“I suspect I could have convinced them to take me anywhere.” 

Tony nodded, knowing that Steve was probably right. 

They rode the rest of the way back to SI in silence. 

Pepper was pacing her office like a tiger when they got back. 

“Both of you, sit down,” she told them as soon as they came into the room. 

They did as they were told, both sitting on opposite ends of the small sofa against the wall in front of her desk. 

“All right, you two have been apart for almost a year. You were once friends and once more than that, evidently. Tony and I were more than that too, but now, we’re not. It’s time to stop being stupid here.” She turned to Steve. “And you. I know you’re embarrassed, but you’re a grown man. Things happen. I still want you and am pretty much over this silliness the two of you have going.”

She sat down behind her desk. “Stop looking like schoolboys. Shake hands and make up. Tony, you don’t to tell anyone you made up and Steve, you don’t have to worry about Tony making trouble for you. He won’t, will you, Tony?”

Tony shook his head. 

She put one elbow on her desk and leaned her chin on it, all the while looking at Tony and Steve. 

“Well? Shake hands, hug, something.” 

Steve tentative reached his hand out to Tony. Tony shook it then pulled him close for a hug. Steve wasn’t sure what to do so he hugged back, patting Tony’s back.

Pepper got up and came around the desk. She kissed Tony’s cheek then Steve’s. “Now go home, Tony. I’ll send the signed contracts to you in the morning. Steve, we’ll borrow a car from the fleet and drive home.” 

She was clearly in charge. That was what Steve liked about her. 

*

Tony was not super happy with the outcome, but he wasn’t going to argue with Pepper any more than Steve was. He wasn’t sure if the idea of her with Steve or of Steve with her disturbed him more. The idea of joining them crossed his mind, but Pepper had never shown any interest in his suggestions of threesomes. He’d never suggested one with another man, though. 

He wasn’t surprised that she knew about him and Steve either. He was surprised she’d seen them. He’d thought they were very discreet. There was something so intense about being with Steve and he’d missed that after everything happened between them. He’d almost picked up that phone a hundred times just to hear Steve’s voice. 

They’d never been at one another all the time – there had only been a few actual encounters but Tony remembered every moment of them. He wondered what Steve thought. 

*

Pepper was annoyed and not for the reasons she’d have thought. Tony seemed appropriately jealous and Steve seemed appropriately embarrassed, but she wanted them to – what? Make up? Both become her stable of men? She wasn’t sure. The way Tony had looked at Steve once or twice had not escaped her notice. He’d never looked at her like she was first prize, the way he did Steve. 

“I’m sorry about that,” she finally said to Steve as they headed for her apartment 

Steve didn’t say anything, just looked out the front of the car. It had started to rain so the only noise in the car was the sound of the windshield wipers. 

They got out in front of her building and went inside. The driver had an umbrella to hold over them so they didn’t get wet. They didn’t speak as she unlocked her door and let him in first. 

“You’re angry. I get that. Exactly why?” Pepper asked him as she shed her jacket and stepped out of her shoes. 

“Did the two of you set me up? Was this an amusement of some kind to you or Tony?” She saw that stubborn look that Tony had told her about.

“I had no idea that Tony was coming by. Do you really think I wanted him to walk in on us?” Pepper asked him.

“Not really, but sometimes I think I’m way out of my league with either of you.”

She kissed his cheek. “I don't think you're ever been out of your league, Steve. I didn't know he was coming over. He pops in – it's a Tony thing.”

“Where do we go from here? I don't really feel a lot like fucking anyone tonight.” He was still angry and embarrassed. 

“We can get some sleep. Maybe you'll feel better in the morning.”

“I'll sleep here on the sofa.” He sat down on the sofa and began to remove his boots. 

Pepper sat down beside him and put her arm around his shoulder. She kissed his cheek again.  
“I won't bite you. Come to bed with me.”

He sighed and stood. She took his hand and left him to her bedroom. He undressed down to his underwear and Pepper disappeared into the bathroom and came out dressed in knit pants and a tank top. She turned down the bed and patted the side opposite hers. 

He lay down beside her and she turned the light off. 

He rolled over with his back to her and was a little surprised when she pressed herself against him, sighed and went to sleep.

Morning came before he knew it. He woke to see Pepper standing front of her mirror, drying her hair. She was dressed in her undies, having already showered.

“Good morning, sleepy head.”

“I need to get back to Germany, Pepper.”

“I'd like you to stay until we can work this out, Steve. I value what we have. I care about you and I want you, too, both in my life and in my bed.”

“I don't want to hurt Tony.”

“Honey, you broke his heart already.”

“I don't want to hurt him more.”

She came to him on the bed, sat beside him and kissed his cheek. 

“What do want from me, Pepper?”

“I want you two to be friends or whatever you need to be again.” She kissed his lips. “What do you want from Tony? From me?”

He closed his eyes. “Don't put this on me.”

Pepper finished dressing while he showered. 

“Take me to the airport, Pepper. I need to get away from both of you. I can't think that close to you.”

“Call me, Steve. Let me know you're okay.”

She took him to the freight terminal and he flew back to Berlin. 

The next day she got a text: _Arrived safely. Tell Tony I’m sorry. I can’t do this. I do love you both._

*

It was only a few months later that she and Tony announced their engagement. 

*

They not see one another again until Carol Danvers brought Tony back from space.


	3. Part Three

Steve was shaving when he heard the ship. Carol had found him! He ran outside and saw that Pepper was there. He’d called her when Carol went in search of Stark. He hadn’t spoken to her in a long time before that, not since he’d left them both and returned to Berlin. That seemed like a lifetime ago now.

They looked at one another and then at Carol Danvers bringing the ship in to set it on the landing field at Avengers headquarters. When the hatch opened, he ran to Tony. He wanted to scoop him up and kiss him senseless, but Pepper was feeling the same way, he suspected, and she had more right to Tony than he did. 

Tony was weak and malnourished. The alien woman had saved his life, but he’d not have lasted much longer, in any event. 

They argued, a bitter and ugly thing and Tony left. 

Sometime later, Steve heard they married, Tony and Pepper. He tried not to think of the nights he’d spend with either one of them. He could recall the feel of Tony’s hands, his kisses, his own declarations of love. He remembered how soft and warm Pepper always was, how lusty she was in bed. He remembered the little sounds she made when he was inside her. 

He sometimes wondered what might have happened had he stayed another night, had he taken them both as lovers together. He might have been with Tony when Thanos attacked. They might have saved the world the first time around. 

*

There was not a day that passed that Tony didn’t think about calling Steve and begging his forgiveness. He knew that Pepper knew he felt that way, too. They had finally talked about her affair with Steve, about his as well. The only thing they both completely agreed on was that they both loved him.

* 

Every day they stayed apart was another day that made it harder to reconcile. Pepper was saddened that their reconciliation never happened. Even with Morgan on the way, she’d have taken Steve back and tried to make something work with both of them. 

*

When Morgan was about two years old, Tony called Steve and asked him to come over to their home on the lake. 

“What’s this about?” Steve asked but Tony wasn’t going to tell him until he saw him in person. 

When he got there, there was this tiny, little girl replica of Tony Stark running around with big brown eyes just like father’s. She came running as soon as he stepped in the door and threw herself at him. He had no choice but to pick her up. 

She smelled like baby powder and Tony. 

“TEVE!” she shouted proudly and gave him a rather sloppy kiss. 

“You told her I was coming?” Steve asked with a smile. 

Tony grinned sheepishly and Pepper kissed his other cheek. “I’m so glad to see you, Steve.”

He realized he was very glad to see them, too. He had loved them both and if he was honest with himself, he still loved them both. 

“We wanted you to meet Morgan and we wanted to see you,” Tony said. “Things ended badly and I’ve been sorry ever since.

Pepper spoke up, “And too proud and stubborn to admit it even to me.”

“So what changed?”

“We were watching some videos and there was one of the two of you in your suits. Morgan asked who that man with Daddy was. We told her and told her you are Captain America. She’s been going around talking about Teve Merica.”

“And here I am,” Steve said. 

Morgan poked him in the chest and said, “Teve Merica!” and kissed him again. 

They visited for a while and Tony took Morgan to get her to bed, while Pepper sat with Steve. 

“We do miss you. Morgan’s obsession seemed to be a good a reason as any to stop being stubborn and call you.”

Pepper poured them both a glass of wine. 

“I’m so sorry about what happened when he came home. He was so frightened and angry and he lashed out at the person he loves the most. You.”

“That isn’t true. You know that.” Steve couldn’t believe what she was saying. 

“It is. He does love you. I love you. We made an awful mess of things and it was all me and Tony. We handled everything badly.”

“I walked out and never looked back,” Steve reminded her. 

Tony returned and sat on the other side of Steve on the sofa. 

“Morgan looks so much like you, Tony,” Steve said with a smile. 

Tony preened a little. 

“But she’s sweet like me,” Pepper said with a laugh. 

Steve was still wondering what they wanted with him. As if reading his mind, Tony said, “We were wondering if you’d be part of our family again? We’re not asking you to be lover to either of us. We just want to be friends again.”

“After all we’ve been to one another, can we _be_ friends?” Steve asked, looking from Tony over to Pepper. 

“More than friends works, too,” Pepper said quietly. 

Steve sighed. He wanted so badly to say yes and go to their bed with both of them. He’d been lonely the last few years. He sometimes took a little comfort with Natasha, but they both knew they were much better at being friends than they would be as lovers. 

“Does the offer expire?” he finally asked after not saying anything for a minute or two. 

Tony shook his head. “Never.” Then he leaned close and kissed Steve’s cheek. 

They walked him to the door and both of them kissed him before he left. 

He had a lot to think about as he rode his motorcycle back to Avenger’s headquarters. He already knew that he was going to say yes. He figured he was being a fool, but he had loved them both quite a lot apart and he wanted to find out if it could work between him and the two of them together.

He did make them wait a few days, then called Tony. “So how do we do this?”

“Come over for dinner. We can figure out what to do.” 

He agreed and was at the lake house before dark. Both Pepper and Tony gave him a hug. They had roasted chicken and some of Pepper’s garden vegetables for dinner. Steve tried not to eat like he was starving, which was sometimes his normal. 

Morgan ate with them and made eyes at Steve all through dinner. He carried her around after dinner and let her sing to him. When it was time for her to go to bed, she insisted he help Tony tuck her in. 

“Night, Teve!” 

He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

She was asleep before they left the room. 

Pepper was sitting on the sofa smiling when the two of them came back into the den. “So are you two doing the dishes?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve answered her with a smile. 

“I’ll be right here when you’re done.”

Tony and Steve went to the kitchen. Steve washed while Tony dried and put the dishes away. 

“Are you sure this is okay with you?” Steve asked Tony. He remembered how upset Tony had been when he’d walked in on them. 

Tony looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded. “We talked about it. She likes you. I – I was always crazy about you.”

“Even after all that happened?” Steve knew that Tony had been very angry and with cause.

“Yeah, even after that.” Tony kissed his cheek again as they finished the dishes. “Let’s go see the boss.” 

Pepper was sitting in the center of the sofa. They sat down with Steve in the middle. 

“Is this awkward?” she asked them. 

“Little bit,” Tony answered. “We’re grownups. We can get past it.” He reached for Pepper’s hand. 

“Go ahead and kiss him, Tony. You’ve been dying to do it ever since he got here,” Pepper said as she squeezed Tony’s hand. He took Steve’s jaw in his other hand and kissed him.

Steve shouldn’t have been surprised when he felt Pepper’s hand touch him, caressing him through his trousers. He was hard almost instantly. Pepper had always been bold with him and he still liked that about her. He moaned against Tony’s kiss. 

“Maybe we’re crowding Steve.” Pepper said, though she didn’t move her hand away, only up and down slowly. Steve put his hand over hers and squeezed it. 

When Tony paused in his kisses, he looked at Pepper’s hand. And Steve’s. 

“Maybe we need to move to the bedroom?” he murmured as he moved Steve’s hand to touch his own erection. 

“Maybe we do.” Pepper stood and grabbed Steve’s belt, pulling him to his feet. The three of them went to the cozy bedroom that Tony and Pepper shared. Pepper pointed to the bed and both men sat side by side. 

“Maybe we should ease into this,” Tony said. “Maybe just lie down and see how that works?” 

Steve nodded. He still felt a little unsure and maybe a little embarrassed. 

Tony stood and held out his hand. Steve took it and they all lay down on the bed. Steve was in the middle again. Pepper and Tony both turned toward Steve at the same time. 

Steve finally broke the ice with a surprise comment. “You’ll have to tell me what to do. The only other times I ever did this was with two women.” 

Tony and Pepper both made real sounds of surprise. 

“You? Straight arrow Captain America?” Tony finally asked.

“USO Tour. Long nights with nothing to do.” 

“Times? You said times?” Pepper leaned close. “Details, Rogers.”

“I was big, dumb and way too innocent. The girls were young and free, and too far from home for anyone to find out.” Now he was really embarrassed! 

Tony laughed. “Well, it’s kinda the same, isn’t it? Except two of us have dicks. And besides, we all know what the other person likes.” 

Pepper laughed. “I know that Tony likes for Steve to give him blowjobs.” 

Tony murmured, “And Pepper likes it on her desk.” 

Pepper asked, “What does Steve like?” 

She and Tony both answered her question at the same time. “To be on top.”

“Hey! You’re ganging up on me!” Steve said. 

Pepper kissed him. “We are and we’re about to gang up on you some more. Is that okay with you two?” 

“Fuck yeah,” Tony said, his voice low and sexy. 

“Steve?” Pepper asked. 

Steve looked down toward his very obvious arousal tenting his pants. “That answer you?” 

Tony moved down to unbuckle Steve’s belt and work on freeing him. Button and zipper came next. Steve hadn’t bothered with underwear at all, so he rather sprang up when the zipper was lowered and Tony took him in hand. Tony ran his thumb over the head, spreading the drops seeping from the tiny opening. Steve groaned. 

Pepper began to work on the buttons of Steve’s shirt, exposing his chest to her view. She had always loved his chest, so muscular and sprinkled with a dusting of hair. She kissed his chest then sucked his tiny nipple the same way he enjoyed her breasts. 

“You two are killing me!” Steve said. 

About the time those words came out of Steve’s mouth, Tony’s tongue lapped across the head of his cock. 

“Oh fuck!” Steve ground out, gasping at the pleasure. 

Tony and Pepper kissed as they paused in teasing Steve, making him realize how he’d longed for them both for all these years. He opened his arms and they came to him, one on either side. They all kissed, an awkward but utterly sweet thing for them all. 

“I want to feel your bodies against mine,” Steve told them as he began to tug on Pepper’s clothes then Tony’s. After several minutes of wiggling, kissing and tugging, they were all naked at last. Bodies pressed against Steve and he put an arm around each of them. 

Tony kissed him again and began to touch him again, running his hand over his chest then down. Pepper joined him, kissing Steve’s body and Tony’s mouth, alternately. Steve felt that if he’d ever had any control of what was happening, he’d lost it. 

Steve reached for Pepper and pulled her up for a kiss then moved her so he could kiss her neck and down to her chest. Her breasts weren’t as firm as they’d been before Morgan came along, but that didn’t matter at all as he found her nipple and sucked it into his mouth. 

“Oh yes,” Pepper whispered as he found her other nipple with his fingers and twisted it gently at first then harder. 

About that time, Tony slid his mouth down over Steve’s cock. He jerked his hips upward. Tony took him to the edge several times, then backed off to prolong things. 

Pepper moved over Steve and lowered herself to his face. He reached up with one hand and parted her nether lips, teasing her clitoris with his fingertip then his tongue. 

*

Tony had stopped what he was doing to watch from behind. He slid his hand slowly up and down Steve and reached the other hand out to touch Pepper’s back. 

He’d wondered what this would be like and now, here they were. He expected to feel more uncomfortable than he did. Mostly he just felt want. He wanted both of them, wanted to please them both. He also really wanted to have them please him. 

He opened Steve’s legs and got between them, then leaned close enough to take Steve’s cock and his own into his hand. Steve thrust against him, jerking his hip upwards. Tony kept pace with his hand, trying to stay in control long enough stay with Steve until he came. He felt Steve’s hips tense as he bucked under Tony’s hand, then Steve’s spilled onto him and Tony and onto his own belly. 

* 

Pepper watched him under her. She saw his eyes when he came, felt his distraction from what he was doing to her for those several seconds. But then he began to drive her insane with his tongue and his fingers inside her. She slipped her own hand down to help him. Tony embraced her from behind, kissing her neck and shoulders as his hands cupped her breasts. He was straddling Steve and rubbing against her butt. 

Pleasure welled from deep inside her. 

“Pepper,” Tony growled into her ear as she cried out. 

*

Pepper and Tony moved off of Steve. 

He looked at Tony. “Now you. Lie down here.” He patted the middle of the bed. Tony’s eyes were dark with desire and he was fully aroused as he obeyed. Steve was on one side, Pepper the other. 

Steve kissed Tony, sliding his tongue deep into Tony’s mouth. 

“Please,” Tony begged. 

Steve kissed his way down, licking and kissing Tony’s chest, where the arc reactor had once been. He watched Pepper nibble at Tony’s hipbone. She pulled Tony’s legs open and moved between them. 

“Can I help?” Steve asked her. 

“I want to see you take him in your mouth,” Pepper told him, “like you were doing when I saw you two together.”

“God, yes,” Tony said. 

Steve and Pepper changed places with Steve lying between Tony’s legs. Pepper lay close enough that she could help Steve. 

All the other times he’d been with Tony came rushing back as he lowered his mouth over Tony’s cock, taking him all the way in. Pepper caressed Tony’s testicles, something he always liked. Tony grabbed the sheets in his fists as his breath hissed out of him. 

Steve loved the scent and feel of Tony, especially after such a long time. 

He circled Tony with his hand at the base and ran it up and down with his mouth for more stimulation. Tony put his hand on Steve’s head and tangled his fingers in Steve’s hair. 

“Yes, so good, god, Steve,” Tony said and didn’t stop until Steve slid his hand under Tony’s ass and pressed his finger against Tony’s anus, not penetrating, just teasing. “Fuck!” Tony arched his back and gripped one of Steve’s shoulders. 

He noticed Pepper was mostly watching, her eyes as hungry as he’d ever seen them. He motioned for her to join him and she moved close so she could taste Tony, too. They switched off for several minutes until Tony was reduced to begging, then Pepper grinned and settled back to caress Tony’s abdomen and chest. 

Steve moved faster now, using his hand and his mouth to push Tony to the edge, and unlike Tony’s wicked torture of him, Steve kept going until Tony gasped, hips jerking involuntarily as he came, filling Steve’s mouth , and spilling onto own belly as Steve lifted his head and finished him with his hand. 

No one spoke for several minutes afterward. 

Pepper finally sat up. “I’m going to check on Morgan. We probably all need a shower. Steve, you’re staying the night.”

Tony smiled at Steve. “You heard her. She’s the boss.” 

Steve nodded and smiled as he watched her leave the room. “She always has been.”

**Author's Note:**

> My [**Tumblr**](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/alexcat45).


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